Chapter Fourteen: Fill Your Stomach First

“So, you’re not willing to hand it over?” Little Ding’s voice grew harsher.

“We’ll hand it over, we’ll hand it over! It’s just—well, we haven’t opened for business today…” the man with the dark face stammered.

“Give me whatever you have! I’ll search each of you soon, and if anyone dares to hide anything, hmph…” Little Ding raised the wooden stick in his hand as he spoke.

The bandits shrank back in fear, quickly pulling out their copper coins and handing them over to Little Ding. Little Ding glanced over the pile: it looked to be just over twenty copper coins.

He frowned. “Why so few? Are you bandits all this poor? Or are you hiding some?”

Little Ding gripped the stick and circled the bandits slowly. The bandits grew dizzy from following him with their eyes, afraid he might strike at any moment.

“Reporting to the chief, this is all the money we have! We’ve handed it all over! None of us would dare hide anything!” the bandits protested in unison, thinking Little Ding was one of their own kind.

“Fine, since that’s the case…” Little Ding gestured to Zhao Laixi to collect the coins, but despite several signals, Zhao Laixi remained frozen.

At that moment, Zhao Laixi was completely stunned by Little Ding’s actions: Amazing, my brother! Robbing even bandits! Is there anything you won’t dare to do? Is this still the same simpleton as before? But why are you looking at me? What does that look mean? Oh, those copper coins…

Zhao Laixi finally came to his senses, gathered up the twenty-odd copper coins, and stepped aside.

“Next, let’s move to the next step—take off all your clothes, every last piece. None can be left behind…” Little Ding declared.

What? The bandits were shocked once more.

“Ah… well, you’re so poor, you only handed over a few coins.” Little Ding sighed, stick in hand. “You have nothing else on you but these tattered clothes—so I suppose we’ll have to make do and see if they fetch anything.”

“Reporting to chief, our leader has money. Why don’t you rob him instead…” someone suggested. It was the classic case of sacrificing others to save oneself.

The bandits were unwilling to use their clothes for barter. Most of them were humble folk, forced into banditry by circumstance. Life as a bandit was hard, and whatever loot they got was handed up, leaving only scraps for themselves.

Some were so poor they only owned the clothes on their backs. If Little Ding took those, they’d be left with nothing to wear. So one of them suggested Little Ding go after their leader, hoping to avoid this misfortune—and knowing their chief was skilled in martial arts, perhaps Little Ding would not be a match for him.

“Oh, you have a stronghold?” Little Ding thought to himself; these were not mere petty thieves.

“Yes, yes, our stronghold is called Flying Cloud Fort, just a short distance west on Flying Cloud Peak. If you wish to go, I can show you the way!” one bandit eagerly offered.

“Heh, not interested! I’m in a hurry. Hurry up and strip! Whoever is slowest gets a beating!” Little Ding glared, waving his stick menacingly.

The bandits were struck dumb with fear. No one wanted to be beaten, so they quickly unbuttoned and stripped off their clothes. In moments, they were all left bare as plucked chickens.

Little Ding had Zhao Laixi gather the clothes, then collected several hatchets and kitchen knives the bandits used. He wrapped the weapons in the clothes, tied them into a bundle, and had Zhao Laixi carry it.

Seeing there was nothing else to loot, Little Ding waved his hand. “Alright, you can go now.”

The bandits, feeling as though pardoned, hurriedly fled into the woods.

Little Ding hoisted the male wolf, grabbed Zhao Laixi by the arm, and raced toward the county town.

By midday, Little Ding and Zhao Laixi arrived at Luoxia County. The streets bustled with people, most dressed in long robes; only a few manual laborers wore the short jackets like Little Ding.

Little Ding carried the wolf in front, while Zhao Laixi followed behind with the bundle of rags. The sight of the huge wolf caused people to step aside in fear, so Little Ding never felt crowded as he walked.

Shops lined both sides of the street. Little Ding looked left and right, finding everything novel, like a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time.

Zhao Laixi had visited the county years before and knew where the market was, so he guided Little Ding in that direction.

Before they had gone far, Little Ding spotted a wonton shop and immediately felt hungry.

He’d only had a bit of watery porridge before setting out—it hardly filled a tooth, let alone a belly.

“Brother-in-law, are you hungry? I say we have a bowl of wontons first; my stomach’s growling,” Little Ding asked Zhao Laixi.

“Brother, we didn’t bring any money! Let’s sell the wolf first, then eat,” Zhao Laixi frowned, thinking, This fool only cares about food! The wolf hasn’t been sold, and he’s already thinking of eating.

“We have money—we took over twenty copper coins from the bandits earlier! Selling the wolf can wait; let’s eat first.” Without waiting for Zhao Laixi’s answer, Little Ding strode into the wonton shop.

He called out, “Boss, how much for a bowl of wontons?”

The shopkeeper, a middle-aged couple, saw Little Ding carrying the wolf and was first startled, then smiled as he replied, “Sir, please come inside for wontons. Five coins for a big bowl—enough to fill you up!”

“Good, bring two bowls to start!” Little Ding ordered. He set the wolf down in a corner and found a seat.

“Alright! Please wait a moment!” The owner went to the kitchen.

Zhao Laixi sat across from Little Ding, his face bitter and silent. He didn’t want to speak, nor did he want to talk to this fool. Reasoning didn’t work, force was useless, and kind words fell on deaf ears—so what was the point? Better to sit quietly.

Soon, two large bowls of wontons arrived. The owner smiled, “Sir, enjoy!” and left.

Little Ding wasn’t afraid of the heat. He slurped down the wontons in three quick gulps, finishing the bowl, then looked up at Zhao Laixi.

Zhao Laixi had barely started his own bowl, and saw Little Ding’s was already empty, not even a drop of soup left. He thought, What a fool, only knows how to eat!

“Brother-in-law, take out the money. Let’s see how many coins we have,” Little Ding said with a smile.

Zhao Laixi, annoyed, pulled out the twenty-odd coins and placed them on the table without a word.

Little Ding counted out ten coins for the meal and saw seventeen left. He called, “Boss, three more bowls of wontons!”

“Alright!” the owner replied.

Zhao Laixi stared at Little Ding, “Brother, can we eat that many?”

“Don’t worry, brother-in-law! If you can’t finish, I will! These wontons are really tasty!” Little Ding smacked his lips.

Zhao Laixi was speechless and kept eating.

In the end, Zhao Laixi ate one bowl, Little Ding ate four. When Little Ding finished the last bowl, he patted his stomach, wiped his mouth with a sleeve, burped contentedly, and called out, “Boss, the bill!”

The owner trotted over, smiling—he rarely saw anyone who could eat like Little Ding. “Sir, five bowls in total, twenty-five coins.”

Little Ding glanced at the twenty-seven coins on the table and said, “Here’s twenty-seven coins, all yours. But I need to ask you for directions.”

“Of course, sir! What do you need directions for? Are you going to the county office, perchance?” the owner asked, bowing.

“To the county office?” Little Ding was actually planning to ask the way to the pawnshop and blacksmith—he wanted to deal with the bundle of rags and knives first.

“Are you going to the county office for a reward, sir?” the owner continued.

What reward could be collected at the county office? Little Ding was completely puzzled.